The 2023 season is in the rear few, but in a recent conversation with Shannon Sharpe on the Club Shay Shay podcast, Davante Adams revisited some of the biggest storylines of the bizarre Raiders’ season of a year ago.
He also talked about his future in Las Vegas and the possibility of reuniting with Aaron Rodgers again.
What went wrong with Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas?
Adams said he had a closed-door meeting with McDaniels last year and his message to his former head coach was that McDaniels needed to be more flexible with players in terms of what he was expecting from them.
“I just basically had to tell him. I said ‘Look, you’ve had a lot of success, but I think maybe we should start gearing to understand that these dudes are a little bit different and find out the best way to coach them up, the best way to run this offense. That way it will work best versus trying to shove these guys into this mode that you want to have us fit into.” I think what’s most important when you a coach is shaping [your team] around who you got.’
“When you come out here we should still keep the same standard as how hard we push them, but maybe let’s ease up a little bit as far as the frustration and leaving out of every practice so pissed off that there was a few mental errors when you not realizing that these ain’t dudes that got PHDs like some of the guys you had [in New England] and even just fit that system.”
Trade Rumors
There has been a lot of talk in recent weeks about the Jets trading for Adams and reuniting him with Aaron Rodgers. Based on what he told Sharpe, it sounds like Davante would be open to playing for the Jets if the Raiders ever decide to make him available.
“If I’m being reunited with anybody, it would be Aaron,” Adams said, before explaining that he is happy in Las Vegas and believes the Raiders aren’t looking to get rid of him.
As always, it’s important to remember that the landscape in the NFL can change quickly. If the Raiders get off to a slow start behind Aidan O’Connell or Gardner Minshew, what level of patience will Adams have with the organization at this stage in his career?
Davante’s relationship with Aaron Rodgers
Davante said Rodgers remains one of his best friends and he is supportive of what off-field decisions Rodgers is making in his personal life.
“What I love about him is that he’s not concerned about trying to change your mind,” Adams said of his former quarterback in Green Bay. “If you feel a way than that’s just the way you gonna feel. And if that hurts you, it shouldn’t, because it has nothing to do with you. More people should approach it that way and, honestly, mind they business as it pertains to his personal life. What the man do with his vaccinations or non-vaccinations, immunizations, capitalizations, whatever it is, that ain’t changing nobody’s life but his.”
And the Rodgers conversation brings up another potential scenario that could become a talking point in a matter of months.
If the Raiders don’t feel like they have their franchise quarterback on the roster after the 2024 season, would they consider reuniting Rodgers and Adams in Las Vegas next year?
Depending on how the season plays out, the $25.5 million cap hit for the Jets to trade Rodgers might be something they would be willing to consider.
Losing Derek Carr
McDaniels didn’t do himself many favors during his time with the Raiders, but his complicated relationship with Derek Carr was one of the pivotal failures of his tenure.
The locker room realized that Carr and McDaniels weren’t going to be a fit that would work, but the departure of Carr still took a toll on the locker room.
Adams said he wasn’t happy “at all” about the decision to move on from Carr…
And on a related note…
Why is there a lone Associated Press reporter still arguing about Derek Carr with strangers on social media just about every day?
x: @raidersbeat
Mark Davis has made some goofy decisions, but bringing in McDoofus was unforgivable. Joshy did nearly an exact replay of his snafu in Denver. Good players like Carr were marginalized and eventually left the team. Still a fan but forever p.oed at Mark.